Cartel Meaning
/kɑːˈtɛl/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA group of businesses or nations that collude to limit competition within an industry or market.
nounA combination of political groups (notably parties) for common action.
Sentence Examples
Tom got into trouble with the cartel in Mexico.
What does the cartel say?
CEFR Practice Quiz
The international ____ controlled the supply of diamonds to keep prices high.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The major oil producers formed a ____ to control the global prices.
Word Origin & History
In the business sense, borrowed from German Kartell, first used by Eugen Richter in 1871 in the Reichstag. In the political sense, which was the vehicle for this metaphor, the English sense, like the German sense, was borrowed from French cartel in the sixteenth century, from Italian cartello, diminutive of carta (“card, page”), from Latin charta.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Over the past decade, the very nature of organized crime has changed, with many groups diversifying their income beyond drug trafficking, and large cartels splintering into smaller, oftentimes more nimble groups."
— 2023 January 10, Whitney Eulich, America Armenta, “Mexico arrests son of ‘El Chapo’: Why don’t citizens feel safer?”, in The Christian Science Monitor:
"He is cowed at the very idea of a cartel."
— 1819 December 20 (indicated as 1820), Walter Scott, Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC:
"Xerxes whipped the Sea, and writ a cartell of defiance to the hill Athos."
— 1603, Michel de Montaigne, translated by John Florio, The Essayes […], London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:
"He then sent down a flag of truce in military style, proposing a cartel or exchange of prisoners – the corporal for the notary."
— 1832, Tales of the Alhambra, Washington Irving:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The international ____ controlled the supply of diamonds to keep prices high.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The major oil producers formed a ____ to control the global prices.